It’s a business not to be sniffed at

After starting to crochet nose warmers to keep down heating bills at her home in Chapeltown, she decided she might have hit on something.

And now she is selling to customers in America, Canada, Australia and Europe, offering a variety of colours and fabrics, from fleece and soft cord to leather.

Sally, aged 41, said: “I always had a cold nose in the evening after the central heating clicked off! That’s when I dusted down my crochet hook and some old wool I had stashed away, and I made myself a nose warmer.”

She formed the Nose Warmer Company, fitting in the work around a teenage daughter, toddler twins and part-time work as a secondary school teacher. The nose warmers cost between £5 and £7.50, and customers include skiers, golfers, hikers and fishermen.

“It’s hard work but I’m passionate about my nose warmers. “I know that people suffer with a cold nose and it’s nice to be able to solve one of life’s little problems.”

Orders quadrupled in the second year of trading as Sally built up her own website, www.nosewarmer.co.uk, with no experience. “It took me months to work on the website as I had hardly any budget and no-one to help me. But it just goes to show that with the right product and passion, you can earn a living even in a recession.”

Sally will be at the Kelham Island Victorian Christmas market on December 3 and 4.